girlyracer

UK Tax year ends 31st March and you have to keep records for 6 years and anything up to 12 years for some tax records. It will pay you to become au fait with some basic accounting and get yourself an Accountant.

You're nearly right. Our tax year ends on 5 April, weird date or what. Don't ask why as I haven't got a clue and I'm pretty sure it some stupid archaic reason. We're just full of weirdness here in the UK lol.

You need to keep 6 years worth f records for the Tax man and 12 years for the VAT man. HTH.

Ruby

Wow! Big thread! Thanks for that erinmfritz.

Ruby

This probably sound silly but what sort of salt are you all talking about? Is it like the salt you use in a grinder for cooking or is it bath salts or is salt just salt?!

See told you it was silly. It's getting close to that time of the month when I get on the stupid bus lol.

Ruby

Does this go for bath bombs, bath melts, lip balms and lotion bars etc too? Or just soap?

Anjie,x.

Hi Anjie

I think it applies to everything. It's all classed as health and beauty and anything that you are going to sell to put on sosmeone's skin has to be rigorously tested. As Nat said, if you haven't got your stuff certified you're in serious doo doo. I lurked for a bit on a UK soapmaking forum and I can tell you a legit soaper will dob you in if you haven't got the right paperwork. I think that the local DTI come round and spot check where you make your soap and stuff, too. Nat will probably put us straight on that score.

Like I said earlier I toyed with the idea but gave it up when I found out about all the testing and the costs!! Candles are a hell of lot less bovver.

Ruby

Hi wick'n'wax. I looked into soap making too. I thought it would be a great idea to do both candles with matching soap and bath products. You know create that whole home spa aroma thing. Ha ha ... then I found out about UK & EU certification . What a palaver! The hoops you have to go through if you are going to make and sell soap and b&b products. Registering with the local DTI, weights and measures and getting each and every product tested for skin and health safety. Too much cost, too many headaches.

You can get pre certified stuff but I'm not too sure whether that still has to go to the lab for testing. Seems all too complicated for me so I'm sticking at candles and other home fragrancing products, for the time being.

I'd love to do soaps and b&b products but not for now.

Ruby

Wotcha. That only equates to about £18 which isn't bad considering it's coming all the way from the States. It would cost that much to send a small 500g parcel from the UK to USA.

Sometimes we just have to grin and bear these costs.

Ruby

Hi Gaynor and everyone else.

Checked out my local Tesco Extra and they only have the packs with filled wax. They retail for £3.97. Couldn't find any empty dishes though. Maybe there's no call for them here in Essex (we're not that sophisticated here..lol)

Ruby

Hi Pretty sure I saw those little Dishes in Tesco yesterday (without wax)

I'll check tonight. I've got to do the weekly shop ... groan.

My local is a Tesco Extra and it is huuuuuuuuge.

Ruby

That was a good tip Nat. I use wick pins but I too don't like the way they come out at the bottom. Those bits always seem to chip off. I was thinking of just using the mould and no wick pin. Then once they were almost set, make a hole in the middle with a bamboo skewer, or something similar, and then threading the wick through the hole.

I'll have to try one and see how it works out.

Ruby

In the UK?

Although votive moulds seem pretty cheap' date=' i.e. 80p, the wick pins seem a tad pricey.

I've found 6 votive moulds, 6 wick pins and 24 pre tabbed wicks for £11.50 plus £1.50 postage.

Anyone know of anywhere cheaper in UK? although you can get the wicks and votives cheaper, it seems not the pins[/quote']

Hiya

I got mine from 4 candles, mind you they were on special offer. However, they have another offer on at the moment. Here's the link

http://www.4candles.co.uk/access/candle_making_moulds.html#vmpkit

Sabrina is right though, you can get them much cheaper from the US like everything else.

Ruby

Mucho cheapo wooden chopsicks work for me.

Hi Anjie

From what I can gather polypro is the good stuff, as is cellophane. I think that polypro is more widely available, also cheaper than cello.

Ruby

Ooh .. they look really lovely. I love the way you've decorated the lilac ones.

Your tags are nice. Do you run them up yourself or are they professionally done?

Ruby

i've been trying to get some cello bags' date=' but can't figure out the sizes of the gusset [/quote']

Gussets???? I'm at the age now where the bigger they are the more comfortable they are

Sorry what kind of gussets are we talking about.

Only kidding

Ruby

i've been trying to get some cello bags' date=' but can't figure out the sizes of the gusset [/quote']

Gussets???? I'm at the age now where the bigger they are the more comfortable they are

Ruby

Hi Nat

As always you come up trumps. I was thinking along those lines too. I just saw those boxes and thought ooh good idea.

Getting the customers to unwrap the layers of bubble wrap gives the impression of unwrapping a nice surprise, which of course it will be coz my candles are going to be fab

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

ruby

These may be too flimsy to hold a tumbler candle - especially if the base is folded - your candle will either drop out the bottom or the whole box will bulge and distort with the weight of the candle.

OK ... I didn't think about that. My other thought was to wrap them in cellophane and tie them off with some raffia or ribbon. I was just trying to afford some cushioning while they were being chucked about in the post. I thought that if someone ordered say 2 tumblers then having them in these plastic boxes would stop them bashing together in the delivery box. 2 tumblers wrapped with cellophane could possibly chip, so they would also have to be either foam or bubble wrapped. That would spoil the presentation of the tumbler.

I have thought of putting them in the brown kraft boxes like these

I just think the clear ones show off the product so much better.

What would you suggest? How does anyone else who does tumblers present them?

Help please coz I'm starting to run out of ideas :undecided

Thanks guys

Ruby

Hi guys

I've found a place where they do clear plastic display boxes

http://www.bagnboxman.co.uk/catalogue/page24_clear-boxes.php

They look to be reasonably priced by UK standards. I'm thinking of using them for my glass tumblers. Thing is in the description it says that they are made from PVC.

Would they suck out the scent?

I plan on making my candles to order, so they would be in the boxes just while they are being posted.

Are they suitable or do I need to look for maybe acetate boxes. Are they better?

Any advice, pleeease :smiley2:

Ruby

I'm in Nottingham' date=' big city, and the ONLY place for wax and thats only paraffin is hobbycraft. £4 for 1kg!!

I've got my last lot from craftwise, £10.99 for 5kg bag and spend over £15 (maybe some stearin or vybar) and its free delivery and only took them 2 days!

My soy that Im trying I got from ebay, but I will be getting mine from Nat from now on.

I need to get some more paraffin, got bout 800g left, what am I going to do, even if I order today, won't be here until maybe next friday.

I know the frustration and despair you are feeling, especially when you realise just how much they have available in US, but slowly you find where to get this from and that from.

I'm trying to save £20 a time and buy what I need most then [/quote']

Tell me about it. At least your Hobbycraft sells candlemaking supplies. Our one here in Basildon doesn't. Not that I use paraffin - I'm working with soy. I mean I live in what's classified as London & the South East and we have nothing here. Everything I've bought I've gotten online. I get my soywax from Thorne's in Lincs. My FOs I get from the Candlesource in the US. They are really good quality oils and the price is good too, as is shipping. My wicks I get here in the UK from 4 Candles. They're quite reasonable, unless someone know better.

Mind you sometimes having too much choice can be just as bad. Can you imagine, we'd always be chopping and changing our waxes, FOs, wicks, etc. We'd never get our businesses off the ground. I know I wouldn't, I'd be all dithery :undecided like Mavis from Corrie

Ruby

i live in small seaside town in kent called herne bay:)

Oi what's happening:p. Looks like Kent is taking over amongst us Brits here.

Only mucking about. Herne Bay is a nice place. I've got Canvey or Southend

on my doorstep to choose from. What a choice!!

Ruby

Hi Andrea. It's always good to see another Brit on the forum. There are quite a few of us now. You'll love it here. Everyone is very helpful. There's lots of good advice and some constructive criticism too .

Welcome on board.

Ruby

PS whereabouts in the UK are you?

Having said that, we are a resourceful bunch if nothing else and I firmly believe that we will find a way to overcome this. Maybe fragrance co-ops will be the answer - so we can buy from a big supplier and use a freight forwarder?

To all the others in the same boat as me - just hang in there, we'll find a way!

Yep gotta agree with you there. What we need is a bit of Dunkirk spirit!!!

Ruby

I can understand all the UK candlemakers being upset and worried, but please put the blame where it really belongs, with the USPS laws. Please be considerate of a suppliers' reputation before you plant negative thoughts into others' minds, especially newbies, who might not have ever ordered from a supplier you mention.

It's just my opinion and forgive me if I upset anyone. My comments aren't directed at anybody in particular.

I don't think any UK candlemaker has specifically blamed a particular supplier over USPS rules. Yes, a few of us are upset because any serious candlemaker based in the UK has to get their oils from US suppliers. We don't have the luxury that you guys over there have. You can pick and choose who you order from for wax, wicks, glass jars, etc. We have maybe 5 or 6 suppliers in the whole of the UK. They too import most of their supplies from the US. These regulations are going to seriously affect not only the UK candlemaker, hoping to run a small business from home but also, our half dozen odd suppliers could very well be forced out of the business.

As for damaging reputations I don't think there is any question of anyone here doing that. They seem to be doing that themselves. From what I understand these are not new regulations but have been in force for quite some time. These issues should have been addressed then. It doesn't really portray a professional image. If you use a postal/courier service you must know what goods are permissable at all times. Now if you have an account with any courier company you get notified of changes, even USPS would have sent out a letter explaining the new rules. I can understand individuals not being aware, but businesses who use USPS service on a regular basis should have known immediately and taken steps to fully understand.

Maybe this is being used as a convenient scapegoat for suppliers to drop USPS as a delivery option, who knows? What I do know is that it is causing panic and ultimately it is non-US customers who are going to suffer because of this. Can suppliers afford to lose international custom? Maybe we only make up a small percentage of their business and they aren't that bothered by it.

Food for thought. Why is it then that some suppliers have taken the time and trouble to advise customers which oils can be shipped USPS and which ones can't?

Ruby

Hi Natasha

Jo at Sensory Pefection has just given up her full time job to concentrate on doing Sensory Perfection - so what happens if she's no longer able to get her cheap oils from the USA? Or has to charge 3 times as much? I like Jo and am a bit worried for her, as this could be a massive blow to her business.

This would be a shame seeing as she's gone full time. I've ordered so bits from her but have never used her oils. Are they any good?

The only thing I am concerned about is on the rare occasion I need to buy an oil from a UK supplier, that the only place they get their oils from would be Gemlite or other such cheapo places - their oils are low quality and cause a lot of smoking

I've heard this about Gemlite. One to avoid then.

Who knows, maybe I should start up a fragrance oil business - I know my oils are top notch and comparable in price to those in the USA!

If you do there'll be quite a few takers from the UK and European members here:D

Ruby

OK guys. Last week I received 25 1oz samplers from Candlesource. They were shipped via USPS AND on the customs form declared quite clearly as Fragrance Oil. Now I don't know what the flash points were but they got to me no problem. The package arrived intact. No attempt had been made to open them.

Maybe it's a case that some suppliers have got their act together and others haven't. It would appear, though, that BCN are scaremongering. One thing for sure, as far as us non-US chandlers are concerned, if they all go the UPS routes, we'll have to knock it all on the head as we won't be able to afford to get anything.

UK FOs suck and the suppliers that have decent oils do so because they get them from the States. They will have to factor the increased shipping in their prices. How long before they stop trading because the prices are going to be too high?

Ruby